I swallowed half a Nal an hour ago, I don't feel any effect from the Nal, (I have yet to have a drink)

I know there's not much point in writing this but I feel the need to tell someone. I feel nervous and excited and worried and hopeful.

Curi

Good luck Curious! Only you can make the decision whether TSM was worth a try or not - keep in mind that it might be a rollercoaster. But if it works, you should be able to drink socially and not have to whiteknuckle sobriety for the rest of your life. And you know that if it DOESN'T work, you can always go back to sobriety, since you've got years of that on you.
Keep posting!
EL

Although I would never recommend TSM to someone with that kind of sober time, it is yet a fascinating experiment. I am eager to see how your experience unfolds with time. Please post often. The loss of white-knuckled abstinence is a much more pleasant existence. Good luck!

Good luck with the SEs - and remember, you only drink if you have a craving. Don't force yourself to drink just because you have taken Nal.

Best of luck, Andy.

Thank you EL, Digetic and Andy for your advice and encouragement.

Everything went fine, I had one 2dl glass of red wine about 2 hours after taking 25 mg of Nal. I found the taste of the wine very strong and not nearly as nice as I remembered. I feel no effects from either the Nal or the wine, though I do realise I had very little. I didn't expect to drink a lot or get drunk, I think I would be able to moderate for a while without Naltrexone anyway, before spiralling out of control.

The tablets are expensive, I paid 115 euros (105 pounds) for 28. I got a prescription (script) from a doctor. I told him that I was drinking and wanted to get sober taking Naltrexone daily. I lied for many reasons that I won;t go into for the moment. Anyway, he seemed against Nal and medication in principal and said he wanted to read up on it before writing a prescription. When I went back a week later, he was much more positive about it. I told him about TSM and he said that he thought the method seemed plausible, though he does think my goal is abstinence... I'm going back to see him in a couple of weeks.

So, I'm no longer a "non-drinker", "tea-totaler", "abstinent", "sober", "in recovery". Funnily enough, I feel quite indifferent about that fact, it's a bit of an anti-climax.

I will take another 25mg and drink tomorrow, and 50 on Sunday and drink again, then I'll try to be AF until next weekend, it will be interesting to see if I will stay off it or if I will want to drink, just because I can ...

There are lots of thoughts whirling through my mind but I will try to adopt the "one day at a time" philosophy with this experiment.

Curi

Tonight I took my 25 mg of Nal and about 2 hours later had my 1st glass of red wine of the evening, it tasted better than last night's and I immediately enjoyed it, I couldn't stop myself from watching how fast or slow others were drinking compared to me. Tonight I had 2 good sized glasses of red wine followed by an after dinner liquer with coffee. I felt a definite buzz, yet, somehow I felt oddly in control of it, almost as if I had been observing myself from afar, I knew I was feeling the effects of the alcohol but I knew I wasn't out of control either...
So, tonight I had... ??? 5 or 6 European units, I think.
All the best,

Curi

The sleep disturbance lasts about a week. It was mildly annoying to me. But it did respond to melatonin (1mg). For me, it felt more like very light sleeping all night. It did not seem to effect how I felt the next day though. Something to put up with, it will pass. The nausea is very variable according to reports. I had only one day for only a few minutes. It's a good idea to keep up with the half dose until your side effects are at least tolerable for you.

Hi,

As you know I started drinking with nal after three years absence. Ive never regretted it, well maybe a few times when I overdid it but they are rare. Certainly a lot rarer than in my old drinking days. Im very excited to read your experience but the very fact that you have that initial control means that it will work for you so if your units increase for a while dont fret it. The nausia is a pain in the butt but it should pass fairly quickly. Let me know if I can be any help given that we are on the same journey. Try to relax now and roll with it.

Thank you, Diget and Mario,

I had a slight hang over after drinking last Saturday, nothing too strong, but still unpleasant, especially as it's been a long time since I had one.

I took 50mg of Nal tonight and drunk about 3 units of wine. In the beginning I felt like I wanted more wine and I felt like I needed to keep myself in check a bit, and then suddenly at the end of dinner, I didn't want any more, just like that, actually it was stronger than not wanting any more, the thought of more was yuck! I didn't feel any buzz or effect from Nal. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I will drink tomorrow in a bar, so it will be the first time that food isn't involved so I need to be careful and eat before I go out.

I am surprised at how little, if at all, people react to me re-drinking, it's a non-event

Curi

Curious, the yuck factor is big with me - I would just say, rely on it. When I try to push through the nauseous gross feeling I have ended up vomiting from some combination of nal+al. That and drinking more than 4 units or so on nal tends to give me a baaaad hangover!
Good luck - so far so good it seems